Soon, soon, soon. Below you’ll see the old woodstove on the left, the “new” pellet stove on the right (thank you Migraine! aka Brian). Hubby and step-son rolled it into the shop this morning, and the additional pipe and fittings are in the car (Wow! $170 for a 5′ length of stainless steel, insulated “flex pipe”!)
I am so excited to get this pellet stove. Never even imagined it was a possibility!
forestgirl — you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can’t take the forest out of the girl 😉
Another proud member of the “I Rocked With ToolDoc Club” …. :>)
Replies
Hello, tell us how it works out. Someone should build a bench top tool to grind and compress scrap wood into pellets. Good luck AB
One thing about being in the Great Northwest -- pellets are found everywhere! Safeway, Ace Hardware, easy to get.
The humidity in my shop shoots up to 65% whenever the wood stove isn't going for more than 12 hours. This pellet stove is really going to help, and no more firewood management time wasted.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Well, we fired 'er up this morning! When I got back from work at 6pm tonight, the little fire was burning and the temp was right where I set the thermostat! Hadn't used very much of the pellets in the hopper either. Gotta do some price shopping for pellets.
First pic below is the "First Flame" pic; 2nd pic is the stainless steel, insulated "flex-pipe) that enabled us to push the pellet stove to the left of the already-existing ceiling box. Now I have space to put a bench beneath the window!!!!!!
That's another great thing about a pellet stove -- you can put "stuff" within 2 inches of it and not worry about the heat. I can rest my hand on the top or sides of the stove. One friend told me she has a friend who's cat sleeps on top of the pellet stove, LOL!
View Image
View Imageforestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Where I live in western MA the power goes out 4 or 5 times a year so a pellet stove would not work. I have a wood-coal stove for the house and will be getting one for the shop next year. The longest outage was 3 days and the normal is 4 to 6 hours. Its nice to know you will still be warm even with out the power on.
We lose power periodically too (though not near as often as we did 5 or 10 years ago!). I plan to get a battery and inverter or whatever those gizmos are called. Some kind of power source that will run the fan and whatever else it is that the stove uses. Of course, if the power is out, I won't have any lights so it's kinda a moot point. Well, at least the wood will be warm, LOL!
It feels so good to come in for the night knowing that the shop will be 55* or so when I go out there tomorrow morning. ......the longest I've been without power here on the island is 5 days; lost telephone and water also, a really unpleasant time, I must say! A few years back, they put more of our main lines underground. Biggest problem around here is wind storms crashing trees into overhead lines. If the main trunk from the peninsula goes down, the island is dark, dark, dark.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Edited 1/5/2006 1:57 am by forestgirl
Forest.. I saved the top picture and printed it in Color for my shop..
Makes me feel warmer!
Too funny. I could make a movie clip, but then you'd have to have a computer in your shop.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
It looks nice and warm, Heres hoping you get the bench under the window.
I'm gong to get some kind of bench under the window, a short one but hey! that's better than nothin'. Gotta get a home for the old stove first. Found someone on Craig's list who's looking so we'll see how it goes. forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Well, I'm glad that everything is working out for you. I guess I'll ahead and cash the check now. What really surprises me is the $170 price for a 5' stainless steel flexpipe. That just doesn't sound right.
After you took the stove away (slight sobbing) I really missed it for the previous days whenI hadto finish removing stuff and cleaning out the shop.
Hi Brian. That pipe is insulated too. I dunno -- Nick's pretty sharp about these things, so I think it wasn't an out-o-line price. Now I'm shopping around for various brands of pellets, prices etc. What were the two brands you mentioned?? One that's reasonably priced over here is Northwest Pride. Lignetics isn't too bad if I get them at Cenex.
Did you get my email? I had a question about one of the controls..... Sorry you were sad -- I would've been too. Also, is it OK to empty out the ash bin while it's running? Do I need to burn any of that creosote-remover stuff in it periodically? I want to take good care of it!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
I usually run it at the red line until the shop was up to temp and then I would turn it down to 3 +/-. But that depends on the outside temp and you shop is smaller than mine.
I never used a creosote remover and I don't think that I ever emptied the ash pan while it was hot.. You saw what the pipe looked like and that was 2 winters worth of build-up
You can use a wire brush attached to a rope in the pipe. These work well, especially in the flex pipe areas. I used on at our old home in SoCal
Enjoy
The best pellets by far are Bear Mountain. I have tested the five available brands around here. I live in Portland and they are readily available at feeed stores.
I agree with the Bear Mountain pellets.
Next choice would be the pellets made by Manke, they are cheaper than Lignetics
The $150 is right - a 3 ft piece cost me $100 and the 45 deg turn was $40. I had a heart attack when I went to buy the stuff. The shop owner told me the pipe is double wall, stainless sleeve, which is why its so expensive. It look like its about 28 gage.
At work I have project where I am buying and installing 10 stainless vent lines in a large room, totalling 400 ft . Quotes are coming in at $30K.
fg
If you don't mind me asking, how big of a 'pain' is it having a wood burning stove in the shop. Do they burn well, or do they need constant wood movement, like a fireplace. I'm presently considering the addition of a WB stove to my shop near my bench area. My new propane radiant tube heater is great, but alot more expensive to operate than I was originally told. I've been looking at buying one recently, and have noticed that, like most products, there's a lot of difference in sizes, styles, and $$$$. Any enlightening thoughts as a buyers guide from you would be greatly appreciated.
Enjoy your new stove, and Happy New Year!!
Jeff
Edited 1/1/2006 2:14 pm ET by JeffHeath
Jeff- are you using ceiling fans to bring the warm air down?
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
My air cleaner does a pretty good job of circulating the air, I think. I still like the idea of having a woodburner in there, and it would be a great way of getting rid of all he scrap, too.
Jeff
If you have any money at all, I'd suggest going for the Pellet Stove! Many will disagree, but like you, I tire of all the Wood Management that's involved with a wood stove. I am rabid about burning as clean a fire as possible, as I value my neighbors lungs just as much as my own, and consider it reallllllly rude (read: irresponsible) to burn a smokey fire all the time. That means tending to the fire every 20-30 minutes.
The pellet stove has a bin (hopper in the back) that holds 2 bags of pellets, and it feeds itself under the control of a plain ol' ordinary thermostat placed wherever I want it in the shop, and burns super- super-clean.
I figure using the pellet stove will free up at least 15 square feet inside the shop. Frees up a huge amount of space outside that's currently being used for storing 2x burning stock (off-cuts from construction sites) and stacked firewood. I no longer have to spend hours and hours cutting up, loading, unloading and stacking and splitting firewood. These advantages far outweigh the loss of a place to toss small cut-offs and watch them burn.
So much of the cost of putting in a stove is in the pipe, roof box and chimney so putting in a pellet stove isn't all that much more expensive than putting in a wood stove. We got our wood stove for free, but the pipe and ceiling box cost over $300 (got the chimney for free). Now that we're converting to the pellet stove (used, $350), we're spending another $235 or so to replace the pipe and hook up to the celing box (got 5' of pipe from Brian with the stove, needed another 5' of flex-pipe to hook up).
Do you have pellets readily available in your area? I was surprised to learn that they aren't ubiquitous! How big is your shop? Brian's shop was really big, and this stove heated it quite well, so they seem to be pretty efficient. You might look around for a used one that's functioning well.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Thanks for the information. I have to look into whether they're available around here. I do have access to a tremendous amount of firewood on my own property, so it will be a decision as to which way to go. I don't mind having to add firewood to the stove, as long as it doesn't get "smokey" in the shop. And, I've got a son who owes me big time, so chopping wood is never an issue. It's his JOB!! (LOL) I've never seen one in action, but I assume that it's much like a fireplace in the home. My shop is 36' X 45', with a 12' ceiling. I really only am looking to keep the bench and tablesaw area warm. My air cleaner is oversized for the shop size, and does a real good job of moving the heat around the shop. Probably only a 5° difference from one end to the other.
My brand new randiant tube heater cost about 300 bucks to operate it's first month in use. Needless to say, I've lowered the thermostat after paying the propane bill.
Take care, and thanks again.
Jeff
An air-tight woodstove is much more efficient than a fireplace. You can adjust the intake vent thingie's once the fire's really going well and wood lasts longer. Any stove you get should have a blower that pushes the air out away from the stove, which helps. If I burn good dry wood, I can get my drafty shop up to 70* pretty easily even if it's 40* outside. However, if the wood isn't dry it doesn't go so well.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
airtight is so much more efficient that a fire place. You would have a bare fraction of ash as it burns so well and that is good fertilizer. I am told that is where the name potash comes from as the early American colonists gathered the ashes from the burned forests in large pots to send back to England.
Did I see that you were from Wisconsin? Even so, I think a good size airtight would pretty well heat your whole shop if it is well insulated. I didn't like it in the house because it is such a mess - especially if you have to store it in the kitchen. If you have to build a chimney that might be your largest expense.
potash comes from me smokin' back in the 60's...
Aw come on, Not every 20 to 30 minutes. I've had an air tight in my house for just over 27 years and I only tend it some 2 to three hours. I think I could wait for at least a half day if I filled the stove clear up. I don't like to do that because it makes too much creosote and it stinks up the outside. The house is well insulated so after turning it down at night it keeps it warm and I just add a couple pieces in the morning. I use mostly split hardwood. I figure about two cords a year. Since you use mostly cutoffs, that may make the difference.
I think an air tight might work well in an open shop. The heat is hard to distribute in house. The temp may be 90 degrees where the stove is but only 60 in a far off room even with some circulation. It is always a mess in the kitchen where the stove is with all the dirt, bugs, etc. I enjoy the sawing, splitting and hauling, but I don't like carrying the pieces up two flights of stairs and stacking in the kitchen.
So out goes the air tight. We are fixing to put in geothermal. We expect to pay less than fifty dollars a month where some of our neighbors are paying over two hundred. And we'll have air conditioning and free hot water in the summer. But the initial outlay is - ugh - unreal.
I am still considering putting an outdoor wood fired boiler outside for the shop.
FG, does your pellet stove burn corn as well as pellets
Some manufacturers make stoves that burn either. It must be great if you move to the cornbelt. LOL ED
I'm looking for the one that PRODUCES corn whiskey (It'll warm
you inside as well as out.
It probably does. It said on the back-plate that it burns wood pellets or some kind of pelleted coal. Don't remember corn specifically, but I think it's as much the physical form of the fuel as anything.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Chezk out this stove link attatchment ED.
I don't know how big your shop is but I wouldn't put it right next to your bench unless you don't plan to work there. I think you may want to be warm not HOT.Good, better, best never let it rest until your good is better & your better best.
Thanks for the warning. You're the 3rd person to tell me it's gonna be too warm by the bench area. I'm presently rethinking my shop orientation to make room for the stove a little further away.
Jeff
A couple of thoughts here. First of all, re: the cost of the radiant heater -- what temp were you trying to reach when your bill was so high?? There is a point at which the cost curve gets real steep. E.g., maybe up to 50* it's not too bad, but at 60* the cost just kills you.
With a wood stove, it is going to be pretty warm right next to the stove. I think technically, you're supposed to keep the area within 2 or so feet clear of combustibles, but of course you're more worried about your bench drying out, or worse yet undergoing multiple cycles of drastic humidity changes. With a fan running on the wood stove, there didn't seem to be a huge temperature gradient between near the stove and 8 feet away from the stove. With a pellet stove, there is no worry about any of that. You can stack stuff within a couple of inches of the stove. The stove jacket is barely warm when the stove is running.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Edited 1/7/2006 3:35 pm by forestgirl
I had the radiant heater set at 53° at night, and I would put it at 64° when I was in the shop. I was emptying the 120 gallon propane tank (filled to about 100 gallons) in a week!! Twice in a row! Now, I turn it off at night, and run it at 60° when I'm in there during the day. Problem is, one of the main reasons of buying it was to avoid the big temperature swings to stored wood, cast iron tools, and ME! Chicago area gets pretty darn cold, and we frequently drop below 0°.
So, I'm gonna buy a stove to maintain temps while I'm in the shop, and use the radiant tube for nighttime. I'm hoping this will curb the bill enough to pay for the stove, as it should.
Firewood isn't an issue, as I have many trees on my property, with lots of dead fall. I haven't even seen pellet stoves around here in my searching.
Jeff
Sounds like a good plan. Wow! That's alot of propane!
"...was to avoid the big temperature swings to stored wood" Do you watch the humidity too? That's what concerns me the most (and a constant problem here in the Northwest). Nice thing about heating with wood burning, it drives the humidity down quite nicely.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
I have 2 dehumidifiers that run constantly in the spring, summer, and fall. In the winter it's dry, dry , dry here! Humidity in shop is less than 35%, which correlates to the wood being 8 to 10 %.
Jeff
It must be nice to at least one dry season, and your snow has an up side. I guess our summers aren't too bad, they're just not very long. The other seasons, if I didn't keep a fire burning, it would be 70% or higher humidity in the shop. I don't know for sure, but I suspect humidity is the main factor that needs to be control as far as wood storage goes, less so than temperature. But then, when it comes time to glue or finish, that temp become a big deal (a pat on the back to Dennis <g>).forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
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